Biking across America to fight MS

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By
Jay Michaels

Story Created:
Jul 1, 2011 at 12:17 PM MDT

Story Updated:
Nov 11, 2013 at 8:10 AM MDT

(TWIN FALLS, ID) A man bicycling across America wants to raise $100 a mile, which adds up to $37,000. 61 year old Travis White from Denver, Colorado is biking across America from Astoria, Oregon to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He says he's doing it to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis, and to raise money to research a cure for the disease.

White says, "In my case, in 2008 I woke up one morning and couldn't feel my right hand or my right foot, they were just numb. And even today, three years later, I feel like my right hand and my right foot are asleep."

White says he's currently in remission right now, and that the best way to fight multiple sclerosis is to reduce your stress, avoid infections, and take good care of yourself physically. He says lots of people in the MS community do lots of physical and outdoor activities like bicycling to keep themselves in good aerobic condition.

White says MS eats into the myelin sheath around the nerves. "I think of it as a frayed telephone wire. The telephone signal's going down the wire, but the wire is leaking out, and the signal doesn't always get to the right place at the right time."

He says the next fundraiser in Idaho is the MS 150 Ride in McCall on July 23rd and 24th. You can find out more at bikemsidaho.org, and you can follow White's travels by visiting his blog at travisbikesamerica.com. This weekend, his stops will be Idaho Falls and Jackson, Wyoming.

White says, "I'm having a great time. This is a beautiful country, I really am enjoying what I'm doing. It's great to work for a good cause and to enjoy it while you're doing it."